1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a knee protector for use in an automotive vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to a knee protector which protects knees of the driver of the vehicle if the vehicle is abruptly decelerated due to a collision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When an automotive vehicle collides with an object in an accident, although the upper half of the body of the driver is restrained by means of a seat belt and shoulder harness, the driver's knees may violently strike against the column cover and so forth. In order to protect the driver's knees in such an accident, various knee protecting arrangements have been proposed. Some of such knee protecting arrangements are described in the Japanese Utility-Model First (unexamined) Publication (Jikkai Sho.) Nos. 54-32445 and 57-47554, and the Japanese Patent Second (examined) Publication (Tokko Sho.) No. 53-30219.
In the disclosed knee protecting arrangements, a deformable knee protector member is provided under a steering column in front of the driver's knees. When the knees strike against the knee protector member in a car crash, the knee protector member is deformed to absorb kinetic energy due to the crask so that the load applied to the driver's knees is restricted to be within a predetermined allowable limit.
In automotive vehicles in which the occupant's hip point is relatively low, the driver's knees are located in a relatively forward position as compared with vehicles in which the hip point is relatively high. In such vehicles, if the knee protecting arrangement occupies too much space under the steering column, the space under the steering column for the driver's legs may be too small. Therefore, the knee protecting arrangement must be so arranged as to assure a sufficiently amount space under the steering column.
In some vehicles, an energy absorbing steering column is provided in which when a load is applied to the steering wheel, break away mounting brackets for mounting the steering wheel on the steering column prevent injury to the driver due to shock transmitted through the steering wheel. In such vehicles, if the knee protecting arrangement is to close to the steering column, the break away mounting brackets tend to interfere with the knee protecting arrangement.